1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvement in both apparatus and method for enabling changes in the height of a cross bar in athletic equipment, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method of the type stated which utilizes an adapter capable of being secured to one or both of a pair of standards holding the cross bar in such athletic equipment.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
There are many popular sports in which an athlete attempts to exceed the height of a cross bar through jumping action, either alone, or with the assist of some external member. For example, in the case of pole vaulting, the athlete uses a pole to assist in achieving a certain height.
Commercially available athletic equipment used in these activities, as for example, the pole vault assembly, usually includes a pair of uprights or so-called "standards" which have a cross bar extending therebetween. The pole vaulter uses a pole to aid in jumping over this cross bar at a selected height. In the case of that sport referred to as "high jumping" a similar type of equipment is employed and which includes a pair of spaced apart vertically disposed standards or uprights with a cross bar extending therebetween. Here again, the high jumper is required to jump at a sufficient height to cross over and clear the cross bar which extends between the standards or uprights.
In each of the aforementioned types of equipment, the height of the cross bar is capable of a limited adjustable positioning. Each of the standards may include a plurality of outwardly extending arms which removably retain the cross bar. Thus, if it is desired to raise the position or height of the cross bar, this cross bar is removed from a pair of arms on each of the standards and raised to an upwardly spaced pair of arms. In like manner, if it is desired to lower the height of the cross bar, that same cross bar is positioned on and removably retained on a pair of lower outwardly struck arms.
While this type of structure does permit some type of adjustable positioning, tht positioning of the cross bar is only available within a limited finite range. For example, the lowermost of the pair of arms on standard pole vaulting equipment is located about 10 feet above the ground level. The uppermost of the pairs of arms on standard pole vaulting equipment is approximately 17 feet 3 inches or 17 feet 6 inches above the ground level. In other words, the cross bar can be positioned at a selected dimension between a height no lower than 10 feet and a height no greater than 17 feet 3 inches or 17 feet 6 inches on standard college level pole vaulting equipment.
In many cases, depending on the level of skill of the athlete or upon the age and experience of the athlete, it is desirable to provide equipment in which the cross bar on these types of equipment can be positioned lower than 10 feet, as for example, in high school environments, elementary school environments and the like. In other cases, it may be desired to position the cross bar at even higher elevations than 17 feet six inches, as for example, with professional pole vaulters on high jumpers and the like.
Heretofore, in order to obtain equipment which permits positioning of the cross bar at a height beyond the standard predefined range of adjustable height positions, it was necessary to purchase speciality equipment. In other words, if a particular institution had equipment which permitted adjustable positioning of a cross bar between 10 feet and 17 feet 3 inches, it was necessary to obtain alternate equipment which permitted positioning of the cross bar at an elevation below 10 feet or still additional equipment which permitted positioning at an elevation above 17 feet 3 inches. Equipment of this type is quite expensive and therefore, particularly with institutions having limited budgets, it was not readily available.
The present invention obviates these and other problems in the provision of an adapter to standard conventional athletic equipment of this type which permits the raising of a cross bar above a normal pre-determined range of positions and positioning of the cross bar below a pre-determined range of positions.